What happens after death? What to expect when your loved one transitions. Read it in full below.

What Happens After Death?

What To Expect When Your Loved One Transitions

amanda linette meder

Assisting someone in the process of transitioning can be a beautiful experience.

Everyone wants to know what happens when we die and in reality, the while the journey is different for everyone, there are a few basic steps.

The spiritual perspective of what happens after death is becoming more and more mainstream, so I wanted to cover it in this post as it has been shown to me.

When in the transition of death, we are leaving our physical bodies behind, but our Spirit, that which is the essence and the pure being of who we are, is eternal.

After we leave our physical body, our Spirits and our journey continues. This journey is the evolution and development of our soul.

Death is a transition, just another step on our spiritual journey. In this lifetime it is not the end, it is merely the beginning of a new stage.

After speaking to Spirits and deceased loved ones in readings, many of whom talk about and discuss the process of transitioning into Spirit, I wanted to share with you the common threads of what happens after crossing over.

This information helped me, so hopefully, knowing it will help you, too while providing insight on what to expect when you or your loved one moves on into the realm of Spirit.

So below, you will find the general journey each soul goes on as they cross over -

6 Steps To Living On In The AfterLife

1. No One Crosses Over Alone

He or she will be “picked-up” by friends, family, Spirit Guides and angels on the other side. In readings, I have seen this happen countless times, and have never once seen someone transition into Spirit without being supported and greeted by loved ones.

Someone who is in the process of dying is welcomed by loved ones on the other side and transitioned over.

Thus, even if you are afraid of ‘letting’ someone die alone – consider for a moment that maybe they’ve asked someone special to help them from the other side.

It is common for a spouse who has crossed over to come through in a reading, and promise this very gift to their wife or husband – that when they cross over, they will greet them when they are ready to leave their body.

This works for pets too. Cats, dogs, and others will see the friends they have in the non-physical as they get ready to cross, as well.

So don’t worry, no one dies alone. Fellow pets, grandparents, parents, spouses, friends, ancestors, Spirit Guides, and angels can and do outstretch their hands, appear in front of them, and support your loved one as they leave their physical body.

Two hands coming together to connect as one. Photo: Pixabay

2. Their Spirit Can Transition Before Or After The Physical End

While many people transition into Spirit immediately and at the same time that their physical body gives out, others will leave their bodies before their actual physical departure.

For people who have had traumatic physical exits, prolonged processes of dying, or in cases of mental decline - the Spirit actually leaves the body, or comes in and out of the body, prior to this decline (such as in Alzheimer’s Disease).

Many Spirits who've come through in readings report having not felt any pain or had any difficulty or suffering because they left their bodiesjust before the actual event or transition out of their body.

In fact, many deceased loved ones who saw that you were suffering at the thought of their suffering have come back to say, “Hey, everything was alright! I actually left my body right before things declined, and I was right there with you, by your side."

Also, during this transition time, the Spirit often chooses to attend their own funeral or be present for other arrangements involving their earthly responsibilities.

Some people call this transitionary period the crossing-over window, where the Spirit lingers on earth a bit to tie up loose ends, or the Bardo, where the Spirit is making their way into the next realm.

Girl is shown resting on fur blanket. Photo: Pixabay

3. Their Spirit Gets Time To Rest (optional)

This time is a space that is immediately after crossing over, and is often on a level within the spiritual realm, but right before entry. Some people call this a holding place, but it really isn’t.

It’s a place where the Spirit can go to rest and recuperate from their life on earth and from their process of dying. Spirits will often take advantage of this if their death was traumatic in some way.

However, being in the rest space does not mean they are stuck and not crossing over, it simply means, they are resting and will transition fully when they are ready.

Statue of an angel sleeping. Photo: Pixabay

4. Experiencing The Life Review

When a loved one completes the transition of death, and after they rest from their journey, the now Spirit will take time to reflect and review their time of earth.

This period of reflection can take a few weeks to many years, with the average Spirit spending six months to one year in ‘reflection’ of their life on earth.

This period is called the life review and is essential to the crossing over process.

During this time, your deceased loved one is surrounded by Spirit Guides and relatives (usually 3 to 7 of them) and begins to review their life and the lessons they were meant to learn while on earth.

Starting from birth and extending to death, the recently deceased will see everything playback to them as though on a giant movie screen, projector, or film strip. They usually show this to me as a small, personal movie theater.

While they see all their experiences through their own perspective, they also see their experiences through the perspective of every other being that was involved. So if someone was hurt or there was an unresolved trauma, they gain new understanding on this as well.

Since the life review involves the perspectives of all those involved, for some, the life review, can take a very long time.

Some Spirits have mentioned that they could occasionally take breaks during the review.

But that is all it is – a review of what you were supposed to learn on earth and your experiences, it is not a punishment nor are you punished in any way for anything on earth. You simply learn.

When complete, your deceased loved one will have a lot of perspective about those they knew and of their own actions while on earth.

5. Moving Fully Into Spirit

Once the life review is complete – usually between six months to one year, you will transition fully into Spirit. Once the life review is over, you are now fully ‘crossed over’ and now free to explore, visit, and take on jobs if your Spirit wants to.

Many times, your deceased loved ones spend their time in Spirit watching over you and others that are still on earth. This often involves visiting, helping you out with favors and creating positive outcomes in your life.

Deceased loved ones will enjoy coming to readings specifically to brag about all the strings they pulled and how they are visiting you. Did you recently avoid a terrible car accident? Your grandfather might want to take credit for that.

While many Spirits prefer to visit and wait until you cross over before they begin planning for their next incarnation on Earth, other Spirits take on jobs, go to school, or have other roles in the Spirit World.

Some deceased loved ones become Spirit Guides for those in your family or others who they can help with their expertise. Other deceased loved ones have discussed becoming guardian angel figures, to help those who are going through difficult times in their lives.

In fact, this is a very common role for people who had a less than savory history on earth – to guide others off that very path.

Deceased loved ones who were teachers, professors, healers, or caretakers in their earth lives, often choose to continue on this path in the Spiritual Realm.

Outline of a human head in the sky with a glow of light bursting out from the center. Photo: Pixabay

6. Planning For The Next Life (Incarnation)

The ultimate goal of all souls is to have full capacity to experience, give and receive the unconditional love of the universe. This can take many, many lifetimes, and many, many lessons, and many ‘lifetimes’ on earth.

Thus, this is most likely not your first life on earth or as a physical being, and most likely not your last.

Many people have experienced tens to hundreds of lifetimes. Thus, after your Spirit crosses over, you will, at some point, begin to prepare for the next time you will be on earth, in another physical body.

You enter each new life with a group of souls who you knew in the previous lifetime, and they may be friends, family, acquaintances, lovers, parents, or siblings.

These souls are individuals who assist you in your spiritual journey, as you assist them, and this is who we commonly refer to as a soulmate, or a soul friend.

Thus, it is common for your deceased loved one to “wait” on the other side for you to cross over, so you can enter into your next lifetime together, meet each other again, and continue on your journey.

This set of steps is just the general process for what happens when a person or pet transitions to Spirit. Sometimes the transition is more immediate than this, sometimes it’s longer, and sometimes it doesn’t include quite so many steps.

But either way, most individuals go through some sort of process fully manifesting into a state of Spirit, and they exist there for quite some time. Usually, it’s long enough for you to connect and continue the bond.

Most spirits will visit shortly after they transition to let you know they are okay, so check out this post to learn the most common visitation methods and to continue your journey, read on in a few of the resources below -

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